The Emerald Dress
by the doe and the stag
Summary: It's the start of Lily's and James' last year. Can he win her over? Of course, the road to Lily's heart is rocky and theres a green dress and a certain fellow chaser in his way...detailed summary inside.
1. Strange Encounters in the Diagon Alley

**A/N: This is my first story..so i'm kind of insecure but please please please review. it would make my day, and encourage me to write more. Please tell me if i missed any mistakes, or if you have any ideas etc. I will probably update in a day or two or a week max. Depends on school.**

**Summary: It started in the summer after sixth year. Lily meets James in the diagon alley on her search for a new formal gown for the year's Christmas Ball. Lily sees a magnificent dress, which is totally out of her price range...**

**Finally, a few hours before the dance, she finds the dress on her bed with a message. She has the slightest idea of who got her the dress, and feels guilty for rejecting a certain messy haired boy, and going with his fellow teammate. But what will happen at the ball when Lily finds him sitting alone?**

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**Strange Encounters in the Diagon Alley**

Lily Evans sped out the doorway. "BYE MOM!" she called. She rushed to the alleyway behind her house, and apparated to the Leaky Cauldron.

She has just gotten her Hogwarts letter, informing her that she was a head girl. The letter had came late this year, and with only a few days to spare, there was no time to celebrate.

"Hi Tom!" Lily greeted the old man. Tom smiled, toothlessly, before going back to wiping counters.

Lily walked out the back door. _Third stone to the left, four stones up _she thought. Lily tapped the brick with her willow wand, and the bricks shifted, forming an entrance the Diagon alley.

She placed a foot into the familiar stoned pathway. People of all sorts bustled through the shops every day. On her way to Flourish and Blotts, she even met a man with a bright magenta beard and matching robes.

She immediately recognized the two girls waving to her from across the street. _Ah, Marlene and Mary. _They walked over, hands full with a variety of bags. Lily saw new sets of robes, quills, books, and magical nicknacks of all sorts.

"Well..." Her roommates said after a few minutes of small talk. "We should be going, Mary's dad wants us home at three".

Lily bid them goodbye, and walked straight into Flourish and Blotts, inhaling the wonderful scent of books. She looked around, and promised herself to look at the new, shiny book of Potions... After she got the textbooks she would require for school.

After a few greetings by classmates, lily walked out carrying a heavy bag full of books. She'd decided to buy the potions book, which she couldn't wait to devour.

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Looking at her supplies list, she checked off all of her books with a muggle ballpoint pen. She received many curious and even some disapproving looks from passers-by.

She glanced at the next item. She would need a new gown for this year's Winter Ball. _Off to Madam Malkins, then._

'Robes for all occasions' Lily read. She pushed open the heavy glass doors, and took in the heavy scent of new, perfumed clothes. She wrinkled her nose slightly.

Madam Malkin stood in a corner, charming the magic tape measurer to measure a customer's waist. She muttered something under her breath. The tape measurer flew to his shoulders.

_My, his waist is slim… and his shoulders are broad… _Lily's eyes wandered to his arms. She noticed the muscle clench as Madam Malkin gripped his shoulder, and the sinews running down his forearm. Lily fanned herself. _Hot. _She thought. Then her eyes went up a bit more, and noticed his unruly, jet-black hair. Surely this wasn't…

Lily gasped not so quietly. Madam Malkin looked up, and the boy whipped around.

"Evans." He said, amiably. He had a slight smirk playing around his lips, accentuating his strong jaw line. He looked at her through wire-rimmed spectacles, one eyebrow arched. "I see you're out for dress robes, eh?"

_James Potter. _The bloody prat had been ruining her life for the past six- well no five, considering they barely interacted last school term- years of her life. He pulled pranks; he slacked off in class, yet got the top marks. He treated girls carelessly, yet they all came falling back into his arms. The bloody git was insufferable.

Lily thought. _I mean, he hasn't really said anything to me since that incident by the lake… actually, lets not go there._

"Potter." She growled, trying to steady her voice. She couldn't _believe _she had been ogling at _James fucking Potter. _She exhaled a sigh of relief. At least he hadn't seen her do it, or she would never see the end of it.

"Why, Lils, we haven't seen each other for two month! No 'oh my gosh James I am SO happy to see you'?" James feigned hurt, clutching his chest- _his delicious, muscular chest- _and grinning widely.

"Potter. Don't. Call. Me. _Lils!_" Lily clenched her small hands to fists. He was so damn infuriating. And did she really just say his chest was delicious and muscular? Oh my. She blamed it on the heat.

James held his hands up, and backed two steps. "Whoa whoa. Ok, _Lily._" He put emphasis on her name. She was surely going crazy? I mean, the true Lily would never, ever, fantasize over James sodding Potter. Or feel flutters when he says her name. Oh no, this surely was the effect of the heat…

She sighed. Lily couldn't wait until she would depart from the train, enter a traineeship at St. Mungos and never see James again. But until then, she would have to endure him.

Lily stalked around, trying to look anywhere but in James' direction. She folded her arms across her chest, trudging around the store in circles. All of a sudden, she saw it.

The dress was a flattering shade of forest green, and the bust was scattered with many shining white crystals. It was strapless, and had a cinched in waist, and flowing skirt that was longer in the back and exposed the mannequin's knobby knees in the front.

Lily ran a hand through the silky fabric. She had found the perfect dress for that winter ball. Once again, she stroked the fabric. Lily came across something rather stiff. Oh, right. The thing had a price.

Lily picked up the small tag, and almost fell over. The dress was priced at 150 galleons. No way in _hell_ she could afford that. The most she would spend on a nice gown would be 40. Oh sodding hell.

A pinched voice behind Lily informed her Madam Malkin was finally done with Potter. "You have great taste, my dear." Madam Malkin walked around Lily and the mannequin, "Of course, the color would complement your eyes, my dear. You have lovely eyes.

Madam Malkin was known to flatter customers, hoping to sell more. She was a good seamstress, and she knew her business. Lily felt the red creep up her cheeks as she heard another voice.

"Certainly, Lils. I must say that would look quite smoking on you." James Potter emerged from one of the many rows of dresses and robes. He was wearing a rather wide smirk, and a new set of robes was held in his left hand.

"Potter. How many times do you need me to tell you that _Lils _is reserved for my friends and boyfrie-" Lily just realized what she said. She blushed a bright shade of scarlet.

Potter, once again, used his free hand to clutch where he thought his heart was. "Aww, Evans, am I not your friend?"

"Certainly NOT, Potter. Now get out!" Lily cried, exasperated. She would need to get this dress business done, and find another dress.

Madam Malkin chuckled softly, and whispered something that sounded much like '_oh, young love'_. She turned to face, and ushered James out.

"Now, dear, lets get to business. This dress already looks like it would fit you, but we might need to adjust the bust size a bit- Lily blushed, once more folding her arms across her chest-We could of course make some alterations if you would like more crystals or a sash around the waist."

Madam Malkin eyed her expectantly, and Lily blushed again. Goddamn redheads! Why did she always need to blush? "Oh uh… That dress is really nice but, uh, its kindofoutofmybudget." She squeaked.

The seamstress shook her head, unsatisfied. Ok, well, we'll see what other colors might not clash with your hair, honey." She wagged her hand at Lily to follow her.

Lily walked through rows and rows of dresses. She found it very frustrating that almost all of the dresses would not go with her hair, or her eyes. Then she saw a good dress.

"Er, Madam?" She called. The lady came rushing back to her, holding a few dresses she chose. _Those would obviously be expensive ones _She thought bitterly. "Er, how much is this dress?

Lily pointed at a cream colored dress, also strapless, but with a pale pink flower on the right bust and a light skirt that would be about two inches above her knees.

Madam Malkin frowned. "That, my dear, would be only 45 galleons." Seeing Lily's expression, she quickly added, "It's a very good price for a formal gown, indeed. Would you like to try it on?"

Lily nodded. The lady smiled, and leaded lily to one of the three change rooms located at the back of the store. Lily shut the door, and slipped off her clothes. She pulled the dress from its hanger, and slipped it on.

She let out a frustrated huff. The dress seemed to fit perfectly. With one problem, the last two inches of the zipper _would not bloody zip! _She knew her boobs had grown a bit over summer but really? She might have been ready to fork out an extra 5 galleons, but she would have to pay for the altercation, too.

Sighing, she slipped out of the dress and walked out.

"Ah, how does it fit, my dear?" came Madam Malkin's somewhat pinched voice.

Lily's cheeks took on a light pink color. "Er, no. I'd need it a bit wider around the, um, chest." Madam Malkin chuckled lightly.

"Of course, my dear. And for a charming young lady like you, I would do it for free." Lily had the slightest of ideas that this was only free because Madam Malkin knew that she could not hand over more gold, and did not want to lose a purchase.

Nonetheless, she beamed. "Thank you!" She said. Madam Malkin looked around the shop, and smiled. There were no other customers; therefore she went over to her magic sewing machine to start the altercation.

After only a few minutes of waiting, Lily was sent to the change room yet another time, and zipped the dress shut with ease. It was still a tiny bit tight, and pushed her cleavage up a bit, Lily noticed. But that would have to do, because it had been for free, after all. Lily was not the type to be ungrateful.

Lily reluctantly slid the 45 galleons over the counter. Madam Malkin counted them, and then handed over her new dress. Lily hastily stuffed the dress into her muggle shopping bag, earning a shocked look from a girl who'd just walked in.

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**Thanks for reading, please review. c:**


	2. Back on the Hogwarts Express

**A/N: that was a fast update. Thanks to Enya Sparrow and ihatemakingupusernames (nice user name c:) for reviewing. I dont have a lot of homework right now so yeah, things are going fast. I hope you guys enjoy this.. im thinking about writing a one shot of JPEL or the marauders. if you have any ideas, feel free to tell me!**

**Disclaimer: I havnt written one yet so to be sure.. i dont own harry potter. or james (i wish!)**

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**Back On the Hogwarts Express**

"Lily! Lily!" Lily Evans whipped her head around. She saw a familiar figure dash towards her.

Alice Prewett was Lily Evan's best friend and roommate since her first year at Hogwarts. She had shown Lily around the school, and introduced Lily to things she did not know, coming from a muggle family. Alice was a pureblood witch, and was always bubbly and friendly. She had soft, cornflower blue eyes, and short, dark brown hair. She always had an air of mischief and kindness.

"Alice!" She screeched, hugging her friend tightly. After a short while, Lily asked: "So, how was your summer?"

Alice sighed longingly. "Oh my god Lily! You wouldn't believe what happened..." And so they levitated their trunks up into the shelf overhead and took their seats. Lily tapped her finger on the window, smiling. Alice got the message, and started talking.

Lily was happy that Alice's summer had gone so nicely. Lily knew she was going to Spain, and she had a lot of fun there. Lily also noticed the many freckles that had popped up on Alice's face and arms, and the light tan she had gotten. Alice told Lily that Frank came over, and Alice, well, lost her virginity. Lily was truly happy for Alice, but zoned out after Alice just continued rambling about Frank. Alice would always be completely and overly obsessed with Frank. Lily swore they were going to marry someday…

"And James Potter came over-" Lily snapped back into conscious listening. "-For a bit, to discuss keeper strategies with Frank. I mean, the year hasn't even started yet!"

Alice chuckled lightly. "Ah, don't think I didn't notice that you weren't listening. But I guess James Potter is a topic worth discussing, huh?" She grinned widely, baring all of her pearly whites.

"What? No. I just find it odd that James would visit you in the summer and not…" Lily trailed off, knowing full and well that what she would have said would earn her a year's worth of teasing. "Nothing."

Her best friend's grin got even wider, if that was possible. She had a slightly knowing look in her soft blue eyes, but decided not to question it further. She got up, and bought a pack of Bertie Bott's, two pumpkin pastries and a heap of chocolate frogs from the trolley.

Lily never thought of silence as awkward. In fact, it was quite calming, and she could certainly be comfortable in silence with Alice. But she know it wouldn't last as…

"Hey Evans! And Alice! Would we have the honor to sit with the two prettiest ladies of Hogwarts?" Came Sirius' usual suave voice. Sirius was leaning in the doorway, smiling charmingly. The rest of the marauders were standing behind him.

"No." Lily said.

"Awe, Evans, but we're cute. See? Look." Sirius kneeled, and put on an extremely convincing puppy dog face. He probably practiced it in the mirror, the prick.

"Fine."

Sirius shot up, beaming. "Thanks Lils! And oh yeah, Prongsie can't stay long, he's got something important to do…" Sirius grinned.

Lily sighed. "Not more pranks?" But wait. If it were a prank, they wouldn't have told her that. Wow, weird.

"Nope. Not a prank. But I think you'll figure out soon enough." Sirius barked out a laugh, and gestured the rest of the marauders to follow him out. "Pleasure to see you, ladies!" Echoed from outside the cabin. Lily shook her head. _Boys. _

A pumpkin pie was shoved in Lily's face a few minutes into the ride. "You seem overly quiet. Are you hungry?" Alice tried. Lily just shook her head, and went back to looking out the window.

As every year, Lily saw familiar trees, houses and fields fly by. And every year, she never thought about it. But this year, it was her last year, and she didn't know what she would do when school was over. Alice was going to be an auror with Frank, and Marlene wanted to study dragons. James and Sirius also planned on being aurors, not that they would get in, of course. Remus wanted to be a defense against the dark arts teacher.

She knew what she wanted to become: A trusted and successful healer of St. Mungos. But where would she live? Muggle or wizarding world? And who would she live with? Lily hated being alone at night.

"Lils! _Lily. _**LILY! **_LILYYYYYYYYYYY!_" Lily groaned. She turned around to face Alice, who was screaming at her from a very close range.

"What, Alice?" She moaned. Couldn't anybody have some peace and quiet around here?"

Alice eyed her uneasily. Nobody liked the wrath of Lily Evans. "Er, I think you have to go to the prefect- Er, the Head meeting." She finished.

"Oh shit!" Lily scrambled out of her seat, and into the hallway. Walking to the front, she wondered who the Head boy would be. _Hopefully a Gryffindor. _She thought. Maybe it would be Remus.

Remus Lupin was the only marauder she was friends with. He was reasonable, and a very good listener. Lily did not know why he put up with James, Sirius and Peter. Well ok. Maybe not Peter. Peter was also decent, but he had no personality whatsoever, and tagged along with the rest. He was too boring for Lily.

As she entered the Head's Cabin, she screamed, very high pitched. "Potter!" She snarled. "This is the Head's Cabin, you can't be in here! Get. Out. Now." She pointed at the cabin door, which was slightly ajar.

Surprisingly, he just smiled. "Actually, Lily, I-" He stood up, and reached for her hand. Bloody hell, what was going on? "-I have a perfect right to be here. See?" He pointed at his chest. There, pinned to his jumper, was a silver badge that read, 'Head boy' followed by, 'James Potter'. Lily's jaw hung slack.

"Nice to meet you, Head girl."

**oook. so that would be the second chapter. I really hope you liked it, and please review! ~The doe and the Stag**


	3. Discovery Of the Head's Dorms

**A/N: im gonna keep this short because nobody reads these anyway. I also edited chapter 2 slightly so you might want toread it again. School is being an arse and giving e a whole lot of homework, hence the late update- still, that is NO excuse. i will definitely update sooner for chapt. 4 as i have most of it already written out. **

**Another thing: i am extremely happy because my artwork (grayscale and prismacolor) got presented on a very famous art sharing site, and right this moment it has over 11k likes. i am over the moon, i am pretty proud of myself and its a huge honor to be presented on that site. happy.**

**Note to my other stories: **

**Flirting Lessons With the Master (lets call this FLWM short)- Dora, if youre reading this, i WILL update. i promise. within a week. max.**

**The one time lily said yes- thanks for the wonderful comments. i have actually written two more one shots. should i post them? c:**

**disclaimer: i dont own harry potter or any of the recognized characters though i wish i own james. but i dont, and never will. **

**ENJOY! **

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**Discovery of the Head's Dorms**

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Lily and James strode briskly down the empty corridor towards professor Dumbledore's office. They made their way up a long, winded stair and halted in front of two stone gargoyles. 'Licorice whips', Lily confidently said. They gargoyles bowed their stone heads and moved to let James and Lily in. Lily was about to knock when she heard a deep voice call them in. James opened the door for Lily, and stepped in after her.

"Take a seat." Dumbledore rubbed his forehead. He seemed older than Lily had ever seen him, but he looked satisfied, for sorts. Lily neatly sat down in a velvety purple plush chair, only then did she notice there was no extra chair for Potter. She blushed, thinking of how her actions must have looked so selfish. Dumbledore chucked and summoned a matching chair for Potter, and he plopped himself down with much more noise than Lily. She just looked at Dumbledore and ignored his gaze. She was still somewhat angry that he had been chosen head boy. He! James Potter!

Being a head was the highest honor at Hogwarts, and it had been Lily's dream ever since she was a eleven, six years ago. She worked hard for it, she maintained good marks, and she studied hard and followed the rules. She felt like she deserved her title. But Potter. Potter didn't. He was the opposite of what a head student should be. And he didn't even want the damn badge in first place. She wanted to pummel him badly. She had never met such an ungrateful git before.

The headmaster leaned forward on his cluttered desk, propping himself up on his elbows. He addressed them. "First of all, I would like to congratulate on having the honor of being heads-" Lily snorted. Dumbledore gazed at her over his half-moon spectacles, and Lily immediately regretted her actions, and lowered herself down in her chair. She could almost feel Potter's smirk on her. "Well, as I was saying, congratulations. You, as heads, have a few extra responsibilities more than prefects.-" He turned to Lily- "As Mr. Potter is not familiar with these things, you may fill him in after your meeting. One of the things are planning of patrols. This year-"

Potter interrupted Dumbledore. "Professor, may I ask why I was chosen? I mean, I haven't the cleanest record and I wasn't even a prefect."

"That, that is not for me to tell here and now, James." The professor rubbed his temple. "As said, you will be responsible for planning patrols. This year, it is far too dangerous to patrol alone, so you will be picking patrol teams. Voldemort is rapidly gaining power, and I have reason to believe he is recruiting students from our school. You will look after that, Ms. Evans, and Mr. Potter."

Lily's thoughts were far gone. She could hear Dumbledore and Potter talk in the background, but she was sunken in her own thoughts after Dumbledore's mention of the dark lord. She was a muggle born, she had to worry. She worried about her family, and herself. It would be hard for her to find a job after Hogwarts these days. And the daily prophet was not mediating death eater attacks daily, mostly on muggle communities. And she didn't know how she would live in the wizarding world and be safe. She knew she was going to live alone when she graduated, and she knew she wouldn't be safe anywhere.

Lily heard Dumbledore end the meeting, and she nodded to whatever he said. She didn't hear, but surely James would fill her in. She brushed the back of her skirt down, and walked towards the heavy oak door. "Thank you, Professor." She was tired, and she couldn't wait to fall headfirst into her new bed in the Head's dorm and forget Voldemort and everything else that was troubling her, especially the fact that she would be sharing living quarters with James Potter.

Potter once again opened the door for her, and grinned as he bowed down and said, "After you, milady." Lily rolled her eyes and exited without sparing him so much as a glance.

She strode down the stairs with purpose, not looking back to Potter, who was running down the stairs to catch up with her. "Lily, wait! Wait for meeeeeee-"

The rest of his sentence was drowned out when he stumbled on an unevenly paved stone and crashed into her back. With Potter on her back, she fell down a few steps as he struggled to get off her, in the process swiftly elbowing her in the face. "Ow! You bloody wanker!" She gripped the left side of her face, she was sure it would bruise nicely in a few hours.

"Sorry, not like I did that on purpose." He was now on his feet, arms crossed over his chest. He looked at her with a stubborn look.

"Oh really? As I know you, you would do that any day!" She screeched. He was so infuriating. The git had just flattened to a stone flight of stairs, and he wasn't even apologizing.

He 'hmph! 'ed. "And how would that be useful to me? Hm?"

"Oh I don't know!" She threw her hands up in the air. "Maybe you liked it because, well- Oh whatever!"

"Smooth, Evans." He smirked at her. She felt a sting. No matter how mad she was it him, he never called her by her surname. And she didn't like it.

"OH POTTER! YOU ARE SO BLOODY INFURIATING!" She screamed, hands clenched to fists at her sides. She was about to scream some colorful names at him when she heard Dumbledore's deep voice.

"Miss Evans, please lower your voice." He sounded like he was smiling, and Lily blushed for the ten billionth time in the night.

"Sorry" She squeaked. Then she strode down the rest of the steps and glared at Potter, who was already waiting her at the bottom. "This is all your fault!" She hissed. She walked down the corridor, leaving him behind, but he called her back.

"Evans, the head's dorms are this way." He pointed at the hallway left of where she was headed, and started walking. Lily jogged to catch up to him, silently smacking myself for not listening when the headmaster had told them where the Head's dorms were. Now only Potter knew, and she would have to walk with him.

"So Lily, guess what?"

"What." Her voice was flat as a pancake when she finally replied.

"This year is going to be awesome! We get to hang out all the time!" He smiled what Lily thought looked like a genuine one, but with Potter you could never be sure. Then his innocent smile morphed into a devilish one. "I get to sleep right next to you."

That thought sent shivers down Lily's spine, and she almost regretted being chosen head girl just for the sole reason of having to be near James Potter for a lot of her time.

"Aaaand I get to share a bathroom with you…" He trailed off suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows at her. She wanted to slap him so badly, but refrained at the last second.

They walked in silence for the next few minutes. It was not a comfortable silence like it was when Lily walked with Alice, it was extremely awkward and she felt like she would burst if she needed to hold it longer than ten more minutes. Finally, they arrived at a portrait of a very red faced, chubby man with a top hat. He greeted them politely, wiping his brow while tipping his hat to them. After they said the default password, '_Caput Draconis_', they were let inside, where they climbed a very short flight of stairs and entered their shared common room.

Lily looked around. The décor was about the same as the Gryffindor common room, the room's walls were a neutral stone with a few Gryffindor banners and decorations in honor of this year's head students. It was very small, like a mini version of the real common room a few hundred meters a way. There was one shared couch and a rug underneath, and one tattered looking armchair. There was a little coffee table in the middle of the room which had a god and red cloth splayed across it.

Just then, she saw Potter through in peripheral vision, walking away from the common room towards a heavy, dark oak door. _Oh right. We have our own rooms. _Lily had been too focused on the common room that she'd forgot about her own dorm. She walked up two steps and opened her door. Inside, she found a room rather similar to her old dorm she shared with Alice, Marlene, Mary, Dorcas and a few other girls. This room was smaller, outfitted with a nice comfortable-looking bed and walls adorned with a Gryffindor banner. There was a desk on the right, and a dresser next to her bed. There was a closet at the far back of the room and a tightly woven carpet in the middle. Lily noticed that her trunk had been brought to her room and was sitting in the middle of her floor next to her desk.

She decided to unpack it later, even though she could hear Potter throwing his stuff onto the floor in the room next to hers. She also noticed a door in her room on the right, which she assumed would lead to the bathroom. She opened the slightly squeaky door, and stepped in. The bathroom looked like a small version of the prefect's bath, which she was familiar with. There was a large tub at the far end, and two sinks next to each other on her left. A large mirror was hung above the sink, and there were a few shelves to the sides. There was a door right across from where she was standing, and she realized it was the door to Potter's room.

Lily could hear Potter humming some random, tuneless song on the other side. She felt the urge to open the door, as she wanted to know if he would just be able to open hers and enter her room. She twisted the knob, but nothing happened. Thank god. Lily should have known Dumbledore would not be so stupid as to have the doors unlocked. The figured it could only be opened by the person whose room it was, and that calmed her down. Still, the thought of sharing a bathroom with Potter was not a comfortable one. There also were two sinks- Surely they weren't intended to be used at the same time, as there was no way in hell Lily would ever be seen in a bathroom with James Potter. Ever.

Lily padded across the carpet and went to unpack her trunk. She threw her clothes and extra uniforms into her closet haphazardly, as she was too tired to sort them. She would do that tomorrow. After changing, she simply let herself drop into the soft, warm bed and sleep.

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**So theres this little thing called reviews that would make an authors day and encourage them to write more... **


	4. Who Goes With Who?

**A/N: Ok. Finally. Its here! and it's the longest chapter yet. I dont know why, it just gets longer. I will update FLWM next, and upload a few already written one shots. I really don't know what to say except thank you for reading and reviewing. I dont think anyone is interested in my personal life so i'll leave it here. **

**Review replies: thedogmarauder- yeah it was but this is going to pick up really soon. I didnt want to include that scene because its so cliche and we all know whats going to happen anyway. ILOVEYOURSTYLE- thanks c: jules- thanks samar- you're finding out now! **

**I decided to only start replying to ones i think need replying. **

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**Who Goes With Who? **

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It was the middle of winter and Hogwarts was covered in inches of fresh, powdery snow. The students got up on a lazy Saturday morning to a true winter wonderland. Snow was falling to the ground in thick chunks, and all but Lily Evans were outside in the snow. In fact, Lily was grumbling, sitting on her favorite armchair by a window, watching the marauders, Frank and Alice in what looked like an extremely intense snowball fight. _Traitor._ She thought. Alice was not supposed to hang around the marauders. And she had ditched Lily inside, all alone in the common room at 11 in the morning.

Lily did not like snow. She didn't like the way it felt against her skin, and she certainly did not like being cold and wet, the result of a snowball fight. She had decided to stay inside, ignoring Alice's coaxing and James Potter's infuriating 'Come on Lily I swear I won't target you' that was naturally accompanied by a knee-jerking smirk.

She watched a bit more as Alice got a load of snow in the face, courtesy of Sirius Black. She wiped it off quickly, and in one swift motion, stuffed some down his front. Black did a funny dance in attempt to rid himself of cold wetness, while being laughed at by the rest of the marauders. Lily turned back to her homework.

The charms essay professor Flitwick had assigned would be simple, as she was good at charms. Better than Potter, anyway. The transfiguration essay would be harder. She was not very talented at it, and she found it even more irritating that Potter and Black could do it without trying. She hated to watch them in class. She hated the fact that professor McGonagall would frown at her when she tried her hardest, and still could not master a spell properly. What she hated more was that Potter would perform the incantation perfectly, on his first try, with a lazy flick of his wand. And he actually earned points for Gryffindor, not lost them. Sirius could answer every single question about animagus correctly, and she always wondered how he knew so much. Black was not the type to ever, ever, read.

Lily got started on her charms essay. She propped herself up so she could look at her copy of '_The standard Book of Spells'. _She dipped her quill in the ink and started writing.

"Er, Lily?" She looked up. Lily recognized Erik Chandler, a sixth year Gryffindor. Lily vaguely remembered that he was one of Potter's chasers. She looked at him, wondering what he could possibly want.

"Yes?" She closed her textbook.

"Well, um, there's a ball coming up," She noticed that he was kneading his fingers. "Ah, right, the, er, Yule ball! Correct. So, er, I was wondering if you already have a date-"

"You are asking me out?" Lily couldn't mask the excitement and surprise on her face. That was a surprise. Lily never got asked to anything. Potter usually hexed everyone who tried or had the idea to. As a result, most boys stayed at bay in fear of getting hexed. But Lily guessed that Potter didn't know about this, or he couldn't afford to harm his team member. He was captain after all, and it was expected of Gryffindor to win the Quidditch cup.

Erik seemed very nervous about what Lily had just uttered, and Lily realized it sounded like a rejection. She opened her mouth to correct herself, but he cut her off. "Y-Yes. If you would like to."

"Of course I would!" She said, trying to calm her voice as to not seem too desperate.

"Wow. Uh, thanks." Erik smiled lightly. He was a rather handsome bloke, and she wondered why she'd never noticed him before. _Probably because he hangs around Potter…and because he's a sixth year_, Lily thought. Lily had actually hoped some decent seventh year might ask her, like the Ravenclaw prefect, Darren Wood. But Erik was decent, and she did _not _want to end up with no date at all. Lily's thoughts were interrupted by his voice. "Well, I gotta go back to the Library now. Thanks for accepting, Lily. Bye."

He waved goodbye, and slowly turned on his heel and walked towards the fat lady. Lily couldn't fight the grin on her face. She was, for once, asked out by someone other than Potter, and one of the first seventh year girls to be asked out. Of course she wasn't first, as it was a given that Alice would go with Frank, but neither Mary or Marlene or Dorcas had been asked yet. She felt slightly proud, and returned to her essay with more enthusiasm.

* * *

"No, Padfoot, I won't bloody calm down!"

"Mate, it's hopeless." Sirius sighed. "Look, Lily's got another guy, and he's your best chaser. You can't fucking hex him. Just ask another girl and pay her back."

"I know I can't murder him!"

"Whoa man. I said 'hex', not 'murder'. Either way, leave him be. She'd hate you if you did anything."

James gave a noise that resembled a snort. "She already does." He finally turned to face Sirius, hazel eyes livid, fists clenched so hard he could've crushed a rock, the muscles in his arms worked as he clenched and unclenched his dry, calloused hands. "It was my only chance, Padfoot. You know it. He ruined the _plan._"

"Yeah, well," Sirius started. He paused. He didn't actually know what to say, but he was desperate to help James. "Um, I can only think of two ways to go."

"James looked desperate. "What?" He whispered.

Sirius took note of the pathetic 'sad puppy' look in his best friend's eyes. He would need to fix that soon before Prong's manliness went down the drain and into the Black Lake. "Uh, either you use polyjuice on Chandler, and convince Evans that he's not so great, or you take another bird."

"Padfoot, that was helpful." His voice was so full of sarcasm that Sirius was sure it was dripping and pooling at his feet.

"Nothing else you can do, mate."

"I don't want to take another girl."

"You'll have to." The shaggy haired boy gave a deep suspiration. "And if everything is going the way you say it is, she'll be jealous."

"Lily said we're friends. _Friends_, Padfoot." James' expression was so pained that Sirius himself wanted to inflict harm to the 6th year chaser with his beater bat. After all, you don't watch your best friend hurt so badly and do nothing. Even if your best friend was acting like a complete, hopeless girl.

"Look Prongs, you might have to look into getting over her."

"Mhm."

Just for James' sake, Sirius put on a false grin. "There are tons of other nice birds in this place! There's Rosalie Greco, Sydney Schmitt, Jessica Degenero, Chenmei Wang, Leslie O-"

"Ok. Ok. Maybe I do. Who're you going to ask?"

"I don't know! Too many to chose from. Maybe Meadowes. Maybe Heathrow. You can pick first." He smiled at James, who did not smile back.

"Mhm."

Sirius plunked onto his bed, and it gave an audible creak before settling. There was really no way he was going to get James to get over Lily as it was, but he would give it a go. He was Sirius Black; nothing went without a stubborn try. James sat down on the edge of his bed, head in his hands. He looked so utterly miserable, and Sirius felt a glowing spark of hatred for his teammate, and for Lily.

Couldn't she see that Prongs was enamored with her? Was she really just a heartless, cruel bitch who took pleasure in his best mates pain? Maybe. Sirius was a person that had an opinion on everything, and his on Lily wasn't great at the moment. He wondered what both Prongs and Moony saw in her. And now he was stuck with him, not that he didn't care, but it was draining to try to comfort a seventeen-year-old boy that was acting like a thirteen-year-old girl.

"Padfoot?" Sirius was ripped out of his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

James peered up into his best mate's intense grey eyes. "Maybe I will ask someone else. Not like she would care, anyway."

The latter snorted. Of course she didn't care. "Good idea, mate. Anyone except Meadowes, I think I might ask her." He grinned lopsidedly at the bespectacled boy on the bed across from his own. Prongs looked completely calm, not what he was ten or so minutes ago, when he entered the dorm in a complete rage. Still, his best friend was acting really pathetic. It was a girl. And not even a girl _that_ special. Yes, he wouldn't deny that Lily Evans was very pretty, and intelligent, but she wasn't very open or nice. She was a straight-laced bird, and in his view she would grow to be a boring old lady.

"Well who should I ask? I know I can't ask Dorcas anyway, she's on my team and that's just too awkward. And she's one of Lily's friends!"

James immediately recognized the sly look on Sirius' face, and hoped for the best. Such looks generally meant no good. "I think you brought up an excellent point, Prongs. I think…going with Meadowes would piss Red off more." The longer-haired boy shrugged. "Maybe I'll let you have her, mate."

"I don't want to piss Lily off though…"

Sirius almost cried out in pity for his best friend's manliness. He had overheard (or heard from Peter) many talks about how he and Prongs were 'sexy' and 'manly' and 'adorable'. Truthfully, he didn't like that last descriptive word, but he could agree with everything else for himself. For Prongs not so much… Sirius swore that boy was meant to be a girl. And sometimes he did act even girlier than Moony. "Well, sucks for her, she shouldn't care, right?"

"Nah. Doesn't matter. But you should go with Dorcas."

"Ok." And Sirius, being much manlier and better with girls than his sad excuse of best friend could be, got up and ran down the steps to ask the girl out. Sure enough, he spotted her ash blonde ponytail by the far end of the room. He strode over.

Dorcas was sitting with her friends, including Lily, Marlene, and Mary. He had been watching Dorcas for a while, and she was the epitome of beauty. She stood out of all the girls she sat with, having sleek ash blonde hair and light blueish grey eyes, and a tall, slim build. Sirius knew that they would look dashing together… The best looking two of Hogwarts.

"Hey! Dorcas!" The girl in question turned to face him with a coy smile. She raised her arched eyebrows as to indicate him to continue. "Wanna go to the Yule Ball with me?"

Dorcas giggled into her cupped hand while her friends watched her with varying looks of curiosity, surprise and something else Sirius couldn't identify. "I'll think about it," She replied, but her flirtatious smile said differently.

"You sure?" Sirius smirked lightly at her.

"Hm. I don't know…maybe I'll go with someone more attractive-" The ebony-haired boy put on a look of mock sadness. "Maybe I'll just settle for you,"

"Well tell me when you've figured it out." Sirius gave her a weakening grin. "See you later then!"

He sauntered across the room, whistling a random tune. He ignored the jealous looks that were thrown at him from the whole room. Of course, he knew many girls would be jealous of Dorcas; he was very desirable, after all. And Dorcas? She was a very good catch. Intelligent and attractive, but she never settled for any less then the best, which she demonstrated with rather witty rejections. Sirius knew that this was the reason many boys were too intimidated to even try. Not him, though.

* * *

Lily Evans was mad at Black. He always ruined everything that was good. He would throw firecrackers in a good potion and effectively botch it, he would ruin good conversations, he could ruin virtually everything without really trying, and now this. She and her friends were having a perfectly good conversation, and of course Sirius Black had to ruin it.

Lily could feel the tension between her friends. She sat between Marlene and Dorcas, which gave her the uncomfortable sensation of being stuck in between two humongous steamrollers that were inching in from both sides. Dorcas was leading a separate conversation with Mary, who was squealing in excitement for Dorcas, and wondering who would ask her. Dorcas was happily bragging about going with Sirius Black because after all, that was something brag-worthy. Although Dorcas and Mary's incessant squealing produced a lot of noise, Lily was painfully aware of the vicious look Marlene was sending Dorcas.

She'd never admitted it, but Lily (and the rest of the girls) knew full and well that she harbored a crush on Black since years. Lily watched Marlene closely. She was sitting up straight, her muscles tense and fists balling. She was glaring at Dorcas with an unfamiliar malicious look.

Marlene had dark, chestnut colored hair and similar brown eyes. Her face was neither average, nor was it particularly pretty. It was rather obvious Marlene was the 'Peter Pettigrew' of their group, but everyone tried their best to play it down.

Marlene was a sweet girl, and a very good listener, but she found herself always outshone by her friends. Lily was the smartest; she had the best marks, while Dorcas was the prettiest by far. Her unusual yet, beautiful hair color and rare grey eyes ensured that she was always bathing in attention from everyone. Mary was not the smartest or the prettiest, but her open and flirtatious nature had her crowned as the girl most guys wanted. While she was with her friends, Marlene always felt outshone. Sometimes younger and same grade gryffindors would come up to Lily and ask for help with their potions essay, sometimes one of Mary's many male friends would start a friendly banter with her, and sometimes a brave (or stupid) boy would ask Dorcas out. Marlene never got anything like it. Her friends kept insisting that she had a beautiful personality, but that wasn't really enough for everyone else, was it?

And She was hopelessly in love with a boy very far out of her league and very well in Dorcas'. And that same boy had just asked her best friend out, in front of her, in front of everyone. And she had flirted with him, in front of her, Marlene, whom she knew liked Sirius Black. Marlene wanted to smack Dorcas' even-toned cheek, to ask her what the hell she was thinking, if she even cared. But she didn't. She would find another, very perfidious way to get her back, and it definitely involved kissing Dorcas' ex, of which she knew Dorcas wasn't completely over.

Lily did not miss the wicked look that flashed across Marlene's usually sweet, benevolent face. The last time she saw that look was when the four girls planned a very muggle style prank on the marauders, who had pushed them to their nerves to their limits the week before. Lily distinctly remembered having her old neighborhood friend Frances send over some itching powder, which they strew across the four beds on one fortunate evening when all four were out who-knows-where. She also remembered the morning after, when the four girls were comfortably lounging in the common room on a Saturday morning when the marauders came bounding down the stairs, revealing some nasty, red scratch marks over their arms.

There was a very weird memory that came to Lily's mind when she thought of the event back in fourth year. As the girls were doubled over laughing, Lily had looked up to see that same look pass Marlene's girly facial features, and a split second later it was gone. Lily had never seen that look on Marlene's face ever since, and she suspected that Dorcas should expect no good; from the way the chestnut haired girl was smiling eerily at her. Sometimes she did wonder if Marlene really wasn't as sweet as they thought.

* * *

**A/N: thanks for reading, please please review xx**

**~the doe and the stag**


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